Nee he, jaarling heeft misschien schouder gebroken
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- Mist
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- Berichten: 9687
- Geregistreerd: 17-02-03
- Woonplaats: noord brabant
Geplaatst: 10-08-03 18:58
Ik ben eens op internet gaan zoeken op thehorse.com, dit kwam ik tegen:
Olecranon Fracture
A break common to foals and weanlings is a fracture of the olecranon (the point of the elbow), often the result of a kick during rambunctious play, or of falling over backwards, something to which foals are more prone than adult horses.
"Many people don't even see it happen," says Bertone. "They just discover the result--a foal who has a classic 'dropped elbow' stance, and won't bear weight on the limb. It's repairable with plates and screws, and the prognosis is good in young horses," with many going on to exhibit no signs of the injury as adults.
Using screws and plates on the bones of a young growing horse can be a tricky procedure because placement across the growth plates can contribute to abnormalities as the horse matures.
"We try not to place the plates so that they interfere with the growth plates if at all possible," says Bertone, who notes that if this is accomplished correctly, the plates need not be removed as the horse grows.
Other Common Fractures
Two more common injuries of pleasure and performance horses include fractures of the long bones of the upper limbs (the humerus in the forelegs, and the femur behind), and fractures of the tuber coxae, often called a "knockdown hip" or "dropped hip." Fractures of the long bones, usually caused by some catastrophic event such as being hit by a car, a trailer accident, or a violent kick by a pasture-mate, generally demonstrate what Bertone describes as "massive swelling," and unfortunately have a poor prognosis in adult horses, since these bones are
crucial to weight-bearing. (Bertone noted that horses suffering from this sort of injury often suffer laminitis in the opposite, supporting limb.) In foals, the outlook is a bit more promising, although the risk of problems with the "good" leg remains along with the risk of long-term growth deformities.
A knockdown hip, on the other hand, often heals on its own. Usually the result of the horse's banging a hip on a doorframe and fracturing the ilium of the pelvis, a knockdown hip is easy to spot, since the bone fragment tends to sink in and down in the flesh. The injury is non-weight-bearing at first, but since it doesn't affect the hip joint itself, the prognosis is generally good for a return to light athletic work. (Because the major gluteal muscles do originate at the ilium, however, Bertone suspects that a horse affected by this injury would be unlikely to have enough power in his hindquarters for a successful return to racing.) The hip might take as much as six months to heal, however, and the area will never look normal--the depression is permanent.
Naturally, there are a number of other potential sites for fractures, with varying prognoses for recovery. But the techniques for repairing these injuries are, for the most part, very similar--although there is something of an art to placing screws in living bone at exactly the right angles to best encourage correct healing of a fracture.
Methods Of Repair
Bertone says that the fracture repair team at OSU works almost exclusively with specially designed stainless steel screws.
"They're well-designed for the purpose," she says, "and we have had good success with them."
In some cases, the screws are placed permanently, while in other instances, the screws are removed once the fracture is resolved.
"In condylar fractures," she says, "the screws are sometimes removed--depending on the severity of the original injury and how well it has healed. I rarely remove them for sagittal P1 fractures. And in dorsal cortical fractures--which are sometimes treated with a combination of screws and a technique called osteostyxsis, in which small holes are drilled into the bone's marrow cavity to encourage the development of new blood vessels and healing cells--I usually remove the screws eventually."
When plates are involved in a fracture repair, their removal depends on the horse's eventual use.
"I might remove a plate for a top athlete, because extreme exercise might cause pain at the site. But for a pleasure horse who's only being used lightly, I'd probably leave it in there," says Bertone.
Removal of screws or plates might require a second full surgery, but the OSU team has found that many screws can be removed with the horse standing, with the help of sedatives--a far less stressful procedure. Screws are most often removed if an infection has developed, or when they have worked themselves loose and cause irritation and pain. As long as they remain tightly in place, they should cause no problems within the bone, despite the fact that they are considerably stronger and more rigid than the bone tissue surrounding them.
Two new products offering promise for certain types of fracture repair are the lactic acid bioabsorbable screws detailed in last month's issue, and titanium screws, which have the potential to be less corrosive, and more flexible, than their stainless steel counterparts--in short, more compatible with the natural properties of bone.
"I haven't used them (titanium screws) myself," says Bertone, "but they are supposed to interface better with the bone. They are still rather experimental, though, and they're pricey ($300 or more per screw, as compared to about $25 per screw for stainless steel)."
A horse which has undergone surgery for fracture repair might or might not receive a cast to help immobilize the injury.
"We sometimes put a cast on just for recovery (from the anesthesia), sometimes for a bit longer, and some surgeries are fine with just a light support bandage over the sutures," Bertone explains. "We cast only if necessary to establish weight-bearing on the limb, which needs to happen as soon as possible so that the horse doesn't develop laminitis in the opposite leg."
The casting material of choice for horses is a light fiberglass resin, which is waterproof and fast-drying. A new development is a casting foam that molds to the horse's leg and stays soft and malleable. Used under the fiberglass cast, it improves the comfort of the apparatus and helps immobilize the injury site at the same time.
Fracture repair is a field that has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 20 years, and new research is improving the prognosis for horses every day. The best part is that these injuries, which once were death sentences for a horse, now are routinely repaired, saving careers and lives.
- irene
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- Berichten: 3538
- Geregistreerd: 08-06-01
- Woonplaats: Culemborg
Geplaatst door de TopicStarter : 11-08-03 17:18
Het been hangt niet meer slap naar beneden, als hij staat heeft hij het in een normale positie.
De DA vond dat dermate positief dat hij in ieder geval nog een week wil doorgaan met pijnstillers en rust. Hij had namelijk geen enkele verbetering meer verwacht.
Ik wil absoluut niet te vroeg juichen, de kans is nog altijd aanwezig dat ik hem volgende week alsnog moet laten inslapen, maar dat zien we dan wel weer.
Voorlopig hebben we hem nog een weekje bij ons
- Katja
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- Berichten: 42317
- Geregistreerd: 29-04-02
- Woonplaats: Utrecht
Geplaatst: 11-08-03 17:34
runningkawa schreef:Klinkt alvast goed.
Maar kun je er geen foto's van laten maken, dat kan ook aan huis.
Dan weet je zeker of je het nog een week moet rekken of niet.
Foto's aan huis maken lijkt me een goed plan. Dan kunnen ze ook een eventuele breuk beoordelen en kijken of het de moeite is hem hem een paar maanden te geven om te genezen.
Ik ken zelf een merrie die als jaarling haar schouder gebroken had en die loopt inmiddels (6 jaar later) ZZ spingen en Z2 dressuur. Ik zou dus niet te snel opgeven en eventueel een second opion bragen.
